So What Does a Petsitter Do?

Recently someone in the community was raving about the place they take their dog to board and saying that using a petsitter just isn't for them because.. "..he needs more attention then someone just to come in let him out for potty, feed and water him maybe play for a few minutes then leave."  The person later stated this is just what they perceive petsitters to do, when it doesn't appear they have ever used a petsitter before.  Though this comment wasn't directed at me, when I read it I certainly took offense.  What do people perceive petsitters to do then??

Not all petsitters create themselves equal.  There are those who do it on the side for extra income and there are those like me who do this full-time.  There are those like me who invest in their business and invest in the pets they take care of and purchase insurance, and those who do not. There are those who either have background knowledge (like I am a former vet tech) or further themselves by getting pet CPR trained etc, and those who do not. Et cetera, et cetera...

So here's an idea of what I do during the busy season (Thanksgiving-New Years).  I'm currently working 6 weeks straight with out of town families and my normal dog walks/runs/visits.  During this current 6 week stretch, there were many many days where I was leaving the house for the day while it was still dark out.  I'd go to 2-4 homes back to back to do the first visit of the day, letting dogs out for potty, feeding breakfast to everyone, giving medications, rolling garbage cans out to the curb, cleaning litter boxes etc.  Then I might do some of my own errands while I was in town (we live 20 minutes out of town so grocery trips are at the tail-end of my morning visits). I come home for 2 hours then I go back out if someone is needing a lunch visit, or a lunch dog-walk.  The come back home for 2 hours, make my husband's lunch because he works a swing-shift and leaves for work around 3pm. Then I go back out again for some dinner visits, bring in garbage cans, collect mail.. and the sun has already set behind the mountains by the time I get home.  I'll get a few more hours at home in the evening and then go back out around 8pm-9pm to do some end-of-the-night potty/bedtime visits.  Often times when I am home, I'm following up on emails with pet parents or researching different ideas to help a leash-puller, or maybe on the phone with a pet parent who needs some advice.

I don't believe in bare-minimum... if a client wants me to visit their cats 3x a day, I do it! Some dogs get visits 4x a day, some dogs get walks tacked onto their petsitting visits to help work out the wiggles while their families are away.  There's usually a fair amount of cleaning up I do too, if a dog tears apart a toy, or spills a water dish, or cleaning up used potty pads, scooping up poops in the yard... there's always something to clean.  Lights are rotated to give the lived-in appearance, packages are brought inside, newspapers are collected.  Belly rubs are handed out one by one, I go out into the yard with dogs to play with them during the day and at night in case there are owls hoping for a small canine meal.  Sometimes I bring over my own homegrown catnip to the cats that like it and sometimes (pretty often) I'm laying on the floor next to a cat or dog giving them some lovies.

During these busy times, petsitters sacrifice a lot.  We work over holidays, unable to see friends and family.  One of our own dogs started acting out because he wasn't getting the attention he normally gets.  My poor husband doesn't get a decent home cooked meal while I'm this busy, but he understands.  The farm chores all get postponed for a few weeks until I have the time and energy to start prepping garden beds for the next year.  I also get a lot of joy from giving away at least half of our garden produce every year, some of my pet parents that I see on a consistent basis get to enjoy our organic locally grown produce.

I do consider petsitting a labor of love.  I really do love helping people out and being someone they can rely on to take care of their pets and homes.  A very large amount of money I earn goes straight back into my car for gas, extra oil changes, and needing tires replaced sooner than the average person.  It also goes towards my insurance that I purchase every year, which protects the pets and homes I watch (most boarding places refuse insurance and instead make you sign a liability form).

So yeah, I take offense when someone says petsitters only take care of pets for a few minutes.

Review: Kyjen Slo-bowl

I purchased the Kyjen Slo Bowl 2 months ago after our American Staffordshire, Sarge, had gotten to the point of eating his food too fast.  He was finishing 1.5 cups of food within 45 seconds and that was just too quickly for my peace of mind.  Having been a vet tech for a number of years and seeing my share of emergency visits of dog's who were bloating (gastric dialation and vovulus syndrome),  I will prevent bloat in any way I can.

Slow-feeding bowls have been around for years and the designs keep getting better and better.  I have heard of people using tennis balls or a large rock in their dog's food bowl, but in our case Sarge is tennis-ball OBSESSED and I think putting any non-edible object in a dog's food bowl is irresponsible.  Why not invest $10 in a bowl specifically designed to slow them down and possibly save their life?

We've had the Kyjen Slo-bowl for 8 weeks now and Sarge's 45 second meal has now turned into 4 minutes!  Success!  When we first started using the bowl, meal time was closer to 5 minutes but I expected the time would speed up a little after Sarge got used to eating around the obstacle course.   What I like most about this specific design is that you can contain all the food right in the middle of the bowl, or really spread it out allowing for a much longer meal.  During meal time, the bowl does get pushed around a few inches, but surprisingly moves much less than his previous bowl which had a rubber ring on the bottom to help prevent wayward bowls.  These bowls are also top-rack dishwasher safe and BPA-free!  This particular one is said to hold up to 5 cups of kibble, but these bowls do come in smaller sizes as well, so I would check all shapes and sizes out to pick one that would suit your pet's needs best.  One of my pet parent's has the Flower bowl and even has hers elevated on top of a milk crate.  These bowls are larger, but can still be placed on top of a bin or stool if you are wanting to elevate it.

I ordered mine through Amazon for only $10, and you can choose from the different bowl shapes and sizes.  Overall, I would definitely recommend the Kyjen Slo-bowls and would certainly get one again if needed.  If your dog is a hungry hippo, check these out!

Desert Dangers: Sonoran Desert Toad

The Sonoran Desert Toad is also known as the Colorado River Toad. Because we're located in the Sonoran Desert, I will refer to it as such :)  This toxic toad doesn't get the same amount of attention as the rattlesnakes we have.  They can both easily kill an animal, but snakes always instill much more fear into us humans :)  For starters, the Sonoran Desert Toad lives primarily in central and southern Arizona and extend south into Mexico. They creep into parts of southern California and New Mexico, but the areas are very limited.  The toads are active May-September but primarily during monsoon season, and are mostly nocturnal

Now if you see a toad during monsoon, don't automatically assume it's a toxic Sonoran Desert Toad.  We have a handful of toads in southern Arizona and it's important to learn the distinguishing characteristics of toxic toads.  Just because they are toxic doesn't mean you should go running in the opposite direction, you can safely get close enough to decide if it is a toxic toad.  Sonoran Desert toads are NOT slimy - their toxins are merely secreted through glands on their body when they are threatened.  The distinguishing characteristics of Sonoran Desert Toads are: 1) Large prominent parotoid glands behind each eye and 2) a white wart at the corner of the mouth.  Often, you can even see more parotoid glands on their back legs.  The parotoid glands are what secrete the toxins.  If you do a google search for Sonoran Desert Toads, you can become familiar with what the parotoid glands and white warts look like.  The actual colors of the toad's skin can vary greatly, so color and skin smoothness are not a great determining factor.

Because our dogs and cats are curious creatures, they often bat at or mouth a toad trying to play with it.  The toxins are strong enough to kill a dog but if you act quickly you can save your dog's life!  (I'm focusing this on dog's since they are usually more mouthy than cats).  If your dog encounters a toad and licks it or picks it up in their mouth, the best thing you can do is get your dog to the hose and gently spray/rinse their mouth out from the SIDE of the mouth - not directly into the mouth.  The hose does not need to be at fire-hose pressure, so there's no need to turn it on all the way.  Make sure their head is tilted down or to the side so water can drain.  They will foam at the mouth and heavily salivate as a reaction to the toxins, so do not panic but continue to rinse their mouth with a steady flow of water, allowing it to drain out of their mouth.  Continually rinse the mouth out for at least 10 minutes.  You also want to rinse away any foam or excess saliva from their gums during the rinsing process.  After this (or during, if someone else is around) call your vet and if they're not available call your local emergency vet.  They will be able to further instruct you if they feel your dog should still come in for monitoring.  Sometimes during these toxicities, your dog's temperature can sky rocket upwards of 105*F so it's always good to call a vet no matter what.

Similar to rattlesnake avoidance training, there is also toad avoidance training for those extra curious pooches.  Call around for trainers or ask your veterinarian who they recommend.  Most important of all, stay calm cool and collected if your dog encounters one :)

For more reading visit these links:

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center

Reptiles and Amphibians of Arizona

Wikipedia

Catios, and Why They're Awesome!

8 months ago we didn't have any furry kids of the feline persuasion and now we have 3!  Right before Christmas we adopted a Mom cat and her juvenile son.  Mom had a few liters of kittens before a friend of mine took her in and got her spayed and adopted the last liter out.  Once the kittens all found homes at a proper age (I think she waited 8-10 weeks), I adopted Mom and her son and renamed them Nova and Naveen (both have meaning's of "New" in different languages).  They live in our garage and I was determined to build them a safe and fun catio where they could go outside, move about, but still be completely enclosed.  I'm a determined woman and I'm still amazed that I built the whole thing by myself - the frame is 4 feet wide, 8 feet long, and 7 and a half feet tall.  I'm only 5'0" so moving this thing around as I built it on the driveway was quite a feat! My husband helped me move it into place outside of a window, and planning is essential because I knew the overhang of the garage was 8 feet high, so I only allowed 6" of vertical clearance to move it.  I have since done a few upgrades since I installed it a few months ago - I originally wrapped it in chicken wire but decided to take the majority of it down and wrap it with a stronger wire though it has larger gaps.  I also just finished installing a landing pad and a ramp up to the window.  Originally they were jumping in/out through the window down to a camping chair but Nova has been very sore lately after having an altercation with a friend's dog so I wanted to make it as easy as possible for her.

When I first put the catio in place, I salvaged an old branch from the yard and put it about 12" into the ground and then drilled the very top portion of it to the frame, allowing for a more outdoorsy feel.  I added 2 shelves at different heights, which they love to lay on and fall asleep while bird watching.  The camping chairs have been great for giving them a 'hammock' type bed to sleep in, and they do most of their napping in the chairs.  There are 2 bird feeders just a few feet away and now that we have free ranging chickens, the chickens actually enjoy sitting right next to the catio and both birds and cats take naps just a few inches away from each other.  The door is about 6' tall and I put a gate latch on there if I ever wanted it locked, but I don't really see the need for that.  I go in there quite often and sometimes in the evening I'll go in there and sit with them while the sun goes down :)  The location is rather perfect as they never get any direct sunlight - the catio is on the west side of the garage so there's no morning sun, and it also sits below a thick oak tree which strongly filters any afternoon sun.

(Click picture to enlarge)

I also have a coffee can out there for a constant access to water - it gets changed daily so there's no chance of harboring mosquitos.  I recently put up a chicken swing from one of the oak branches - chickens supposedly like to swing and I'm hoping they'll start using it soon.  They really love to sit next to the catio for some reason.  The cat's don't care very much, sometimes Naveen will look at them wide-eyed but he's a lover not a hunter ;)  I have also started growing oat grass with bulkseed I buy online, and then plant it in my own containers.  Once the grass is long enough, I bring a container into the catio for them to snack on - they love it!

If you don't have the ability to build your own, there are pre-made ones you can purchase online for hefty prices, or maybe hire someone to build one for you?  There are so many benefits to catios - some people even move the litter boxes out there so there's no indoor smell!  You can install a cat door in the wall, a cat door through a window or configure something else through the window.  Because ours is next to the garage which we don't really use, all I did was cut a square large enough in the window screen.  We haven't had any strange critters in there, and if I ever need that screen again, they're pretty easy to re-screen.  Read some more benefits about catios here and I hope you consider one for your indoor kitties!

How To Pick a Pet Sitter

I'm a little biased on this topic but I'd like to think I can give some great insight on how to select the perfect person to help take care of your home and pets.  This isn't going to be specific about our area, so feel free to share with friends across the country!  Petsitters can operate in pretty different ways so it's really important to pick the best fit for your needs.  So here's a list of things to consider when interviewing petsitters...

1. How often do you travel?  If you take the occasional vacation (oh say, two trips a year) then a sole-proprietor can work well for you.  On the other hand, if you travel often, needing to go out of town on business quite a bit, you might need a 'team' of petsitters... someone who can always be available at the drop of a hat.  Granted, it might be a different person each time and many people don't like having someone new in their home each time.  A sole-proprietor (like me) would require some more planning to schedule him or her for your needs.  We need vacation too which means when we're out of town, no one is there to watch your pet, there is no back up. 
2. What are your pet's emotional needs?  Some happy-go-lucky dogs don't mind who comes through the front door - as long as there's someone to love on them and feed them!  Some other dogs are very protective and would need an established relationship with the person coming in to take care of them.  Others can have a rough past and have a very hard time trusting people, these dogs need consistency in their lives as much as possible.  Cats can be similar.. some are very friendly and outgoing, but others will go and hide when they hear a new voice in the house.  Knowing that the same person is taking care of your pets time and time-again can be a relief.
3. Does your pet have any specialized needs?  Do they have a medical condition that could really benefit from a petsitter with veterinary experience?  Do they have severe separation anxiety and would require someone to spend the night with them in your home?  Perhaps you have a large dog that has trouble getting around, it might be best to have someone young and strong.
4. Would you need pet-taxi services frequently?  If you board your pet or have your pet groomed and would like someone to pick up and drop off your pet, they need especially reliable transportation to drive your beloved pet around town.  If your dog is large, they'll need to have an appropriate sized-car to get them around, and maybe even a ramp so they can get in/out comfortably.
5. How important is home security to you?  The absolute worst thing I see around town is a car driving around with large magnet's on the side saying "Jane Doe's Petsitting, ###-####".  This is an open invitation for someone to follow that car and find out where all the vacationing homes are.  This is my #1 professional pet peeve!
6. Does the petsitters values line-up with your own?  When someone is going to have access to your home and taking care of your furry family members, it can be very comforting to know that you and your petsitter see eye-to eye.  This largely means views on training and health.  If you firmly believe in positive reinforcement training (clicker training, treat pouch etc)  but your petsitter uses shock collars to train their dogs to sit, lay, etc. it can signal a red flag that they don't value the human-pet relationship as much as you do.
7. How important is insurance and bonding to you? While many petsitters call themselves professional, if they're not investing in their own business, how sure are they in their own services?  When a petsitters spends hundreds of dollars each year to be insured, they are protecting their client and themselves.  Insurance can pay for a house to be re-keyed if a key was lost, it can cover a pet's rattlesnake bite if it happened during the time the petsitter was taking care of them, it can even cover the cost of carpet cleaning if say a pet urinated on the carpet due to a UTI while in the petsitters care.  Also, when a petsitter is bonded, it also protects them and the client - that the client will pay the sum agreed upon and that the petsitter will render the services.  Both insurance and bonding are a must in my book.
8. How important is it that you have your petsitter for years to come?  Petsitters come and go fast and frequent.  Many people start offering petsitting thinking it will be a fun source of income, but in reality petsitting is not a job for someone needing a steady income.  It takes a while to build clientele and many do not have the luxury of being that patient.  I see it too often that they give up within months, move to a different town, or find something else that pays better.  Those of us in it for the long haul are few and far between.

There are benefits to other options like boarding or having your friends watch your pets in their homes.  Boarding would be great for very high energy dogs that need a lot of attention.  The drawback is that respiratory issues can spread like wildfire in a boarding facility even with vaccinations.  We're seeing viruses and bacteria mutate and vaccines are no longer protecting pets at 100%.  Personally, I would never EVER board my pets.  We don't travel enough and I will not have a facility dictate when I should vaccinate my animals.  I also have a very emotionally needy dog that is scared to death of new dogs.  The very sound of a dog on the TV scares her so a boarding facility is way out of the question for us.

Having friends watch your pets in their homes is my favorite option.  This is what we do - we take turns with some friends who live a few minutes away from us.  All of our dogs get along great and both of us wives are former vet techs and have very similar views in training, so we can feel completely comfortable leaving our pets with each other.  This option doesn't work so well for cats though, or if your friends have a particularly busy household.

So while it is very important that your pets and your petsitter get along, there are other factors to consider.    I do wish I could clone myself so I could help more families, but that's the downfall of working as a sole-proprietor.  I limit myself to a small number of clients, but those clients and their pets become family.  They respect that I need to go on vacation too, so I try to plan my trips months in advance and we work with each other's schedules.  When I'm in someone's home taking care of their animals maybe every other month, it is routine - unless something major has changed in the pet's care, I remember exactly how much to feed, what lights to turn on, what shades to close etc. 

In the end, a petsitter won't be perfect for everyone and that's ok!  What matters most is that you have someone you can rely on, who you are 100% comfortable with taking care of your pets, and that your pets love them!